Lampard defends Barkley after Chelsea defeat

Frank Lampard defended Ross Barkley after Chelsea’s Champions League defeat against Valencia and said an ankle injury suffered by Mason Mount would be assessed over the next 48 hours.

Chelsea were beaten 1-0 at Stamford Bridge, where Barkley, on as a substitute, hit the bar with a late penalty after insisting he take the spot-kick rather than Jorginho or Willian.

It appeared to be a hugely controversial move by the England midfielder – but Blues boss Lampard insisted that Barkley was the designated penalty taker.

He said: “Ross is the penalty taker. He was in pre-season and scored a couple, was when he started games and was today when he came on.

“I don’t know what conversation went on (between players on the pitch) but Jorginho and Willian were the penalty takers and when Ross comes on he’s the penalty taker.

“We probably deserved a win. At least a draw. We had good chances and obviously a penalty and we conceded from their one shot on target.

“So it was a harsh lesson in Champions League football in a game we played pretty well in. We should have got more tonight.”

Mount, who has been in fine form the Blues, was the victim of a nasty challenge from former Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin in the ninth minute.

Mount played on for six more minutes but was clearly struggling and looked dejected as he was replaced by Pedro.

Lampard confirmed that the youngster will undergo a scan to determine the extent of the injury. He looks certain to miss this weekend’s game against Liverpool at the very least.

Lampard said: “He’s got an ankle injury. We don’t know how bad it is. We’ll have to assess it to see the scale of the injury.”